ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Members of the Harrington School Student Council, from left, Leylani Kem, Dania Benavides, Rachel Washington and Pauwill Deng pack a box of supplies.
By DAVID WILSON
LYNN — A thoughtful gesture by third- to fifth-graders at Harrington Elementary School is about to go overseas.
Principal Debra Ruggiero’s cousin, a lieutenant colonel in the Army, volunteers for, and checks in with the Missionaries of Charity orphanage in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Ruggiero, looking for someone to take the lead on a possible project, contacted Harrington ESL teacher Nicole Zarkades.
One of the teacher-leaders for the school’s student council, Zarkades said the 27 members began to write letters and draw pictures for troops and children at the orphanage.
But the children at the orphanage were also in “dire need” of toiletries and art supplies, she said.
So in an undertaking that Zarkades said began around Christmastime, students wrote letters to local businesses asking for assistance.
Osborne Medical Supply, East Boston Savings Bank and Century 21 Hughes responded. The three businesses “were instrumental in ensuring that these supplies were collected through their generous donations,” a press release said.
Included in three boxes — that Zarkades said she could barely lift — are toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, soaps, towels, hairbrushes, hair accessories, and more. Art supplies include coloring books, crayons, markers, and chalk, she said.
The boxes are being shipped out today. Zarkades said Friday she’s unsure how long it will take for the boxes to arrive at the orphanage, but it’s something she hopes can continue.
In fact, if the children write back to the Harrington students, a pen-pal program could be in the works, she said.
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David Wilson can be reached at [email protected].